Chapter 2 #3
It was on the tip of Julian’s tongue to tell him to shut up with the boss crap, especially in front of the others.
If there was one thing he and his brothers hated about working with their father, it was his propensity to talk to them like he had when they were teenagers—in front of the people they worked with.
But since he often went days without crossing paths—or swords—with his father and boss, Julian bit his tongue and reminded himself that the pros far outweighed the cons.
Most of the time, anyway.
Lauren Teller, who was in her late fifties but looked a decade younger and oversaw their forensic accounting practice, shook her head in dismay. “Why does the woman always have to relocate to stay away from a man who’s legally prohibited from going anywhere near her?”
“That’s a good question without a reasonable answer,” Julian said. “It shouldn’t be that way, but sometimes they feel safer disappearing into a new life where the ex-husband can’t find them.”
“It’s madness,” Lauren said.
Julian had represented Lauren’s sister two years earlier when Holly had fled an abusive marriage. She’d ended up moving from LA to Michigan to get away from her ex, taking Lauren’s young niece and nephew with her.
“Agreed,” Julian said. “But we can only do what we can for them and hope the RO keeps them safe.”
After a knock on the door, Griffin’s assistant, Mei Chen, came in to hand him an envelope. “Just signed for this. They said it was urgent.” The pretty young Chinese woman was freaking brilliant, according to Griffin, who often said he couldn’t function without her.
“Thanks,” Griffin said.
She nodded and left the room.
“Moving on,” Corbin said, “what else is happening?”
“I’m meeting with Cresley Dane at two,” Julian said. “She’s dealing with some flak from her son’s father.”
“I could take that for you if you’re too busy,” Carson said with a grin.
Julian laughed. “Thanks, but I’ve got it covered.”
“Lucky bastard,” Carson muttered.
“Someone’s gotta do it,” Julian said to his brother.
“Son of a bitch.” Griffin stared down at a sheet of paper. His normally tanned complexion had gone stark white. He was the one true blond among the brothers, having gotten their mother’s fair coloring, as had their sister Jordan.
“What’s wrong?” Corbin asked.
“I… uh…” Griffin gathered his stuff and got up. “I’ve got to go.”
“Wait, son…”
Griffin didn’t stick around to hear what his father had to say.
Corbin looked at Julian. “Go see what’s wrong, will you?”
“I’ll try.”
Julian gathered his stuff, left the conference room and went to Griffin’s office.
Mei nodded to acknowledge him as he approached Griffin’s closed door and knocked.
Julian didn’t wait for his brother to reply before he entered the office. “What’s up?”
The stricken look on Griffin’s face was so out of character as to be concerning. “Remember McKenna, who I dated last year for a couple of months?”
“Vaguely.”
“She was the extra in that Marvel movie.”
“Oh right. What about her?”
Griffin had a wild look in his eyes as he held up the piece of paper that’d been delivered during the meeting. “She’s claiming I’m the father of her daughter, which is impossible. There’s no way that kid is mine.”
“So you never slept with her?”
“I did, but I never take any chances in that regard, as you well know. She’s not my kid.”
None of them took chances in that regard. “Take a paternity test and shut it down.”
“Yeah, I will, but fuck, man.” Griffin ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I haven’t heard from her in more than a year, and then she drops this bomb on me?”
“Did you know she was pregnant?”
He shook his head. “She never said a word about it to me.”
“Damn. You want me to handle it for you?”
Griffin’s entire demeanor brightened. “Would you?”
“Of course.” Julian took the notification from him, noting the name of the attorney as he scanned the letter. He thought it was interesting that the issue of support wasn’t mentioned, which was usually the first thing requested in situations like this.
“The last thing in the world I want is a kid,” Griffin said. “You know that, Jules. Get me out of this, will you?”
“I’m on it. I’ll let you know when and where for the paternity test. In the meantime, try not to panic. You were careful.”
“I’m always careful, for the same reason you are.”
“Is she the type to try to trick someone into paying for her kid?”
“Not at all, which is the terrifying part. She was really cool. I liked her.”
“So what happened?”
Griffin shrugged. “The usual. She wanted more than I had to give, and eventually she moved on. It was nothing dramatic. More like a fizzle than an eruption.”
“Consider yourself lucky,” Julian said.
“I take it you ended things with Stacey earlier.”
“How’d you guess?”
Griffin grunted out a laugh. “Just a hunch.”
“I’m thinking about becoming a monk.”
“That’ll be the day.”
“Honestly, though, I’m seriously considering a vow of celibacy. No one ever believes me when I tell them I’m not looking for anything serious. They all think they’re going to be the one to change my mind.”
“Little do they know that nothing will ever change our minds.”
“Exactly. I mean, google our family if you want to know why we’re like this.”
“For real.”
“Was Dad busting Carson’s balls about his hair before I got there?”
“First item on the agenda, per usual.”
“Why doesn’t he give up on that?”
“For the same reason he wouldn’t give up on the custody battle with Mom. Neither of them has ever met a fight they didn’t think they could win.”
“Which makes them excellent attorneys and—”
“Horrible parents.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Julian said with a smile.
It’d taken them a long time to mostly forgive their parents for what they’d put them through, and each of them had struggled with whether to join firms headed by their parents after law school.
In the end, the Remington name and reputation had been too much to pass up, but none of them would ever forget the past. “I’ll touch base with McKenna’s attorney and keep you posted. ”
“Thanks, Jules.”
“Anything for you.”
As he left Griffin’s office, he thought about the many times the nine of them had said those words to one another over the years.
That was their mantra as they navigated life and work as an unbeatable team.
Despite many differences of opinion and the usual sibling crap that came up from time to time, there was nothing they wouldn’t do for one another—and they’d proven that countless times over the years.
While Griffin could easily deal with the McKenna matter himself, it’d be better for Griff to have an impartial third party keeping emotion out of the equation.
Before he left for his lunch with Cresley Dane, Julian reached out to McKenna’s attorney to set up a call in response to the certified letter.
Julian was prepared to do whatever it took to get his brother free of this situation as quickly as he possibly could.